


Even Good Boys Can Be Bad

by AvariceNSpice



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Female Character of Color, Imprinting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-05
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2017-12-31 13:59:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvariceNSpice/pseuds/AvariceNSpice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Quiet little Onyx has got issues. She spends way too much time online, she's got an unhealthy addiction to snicker doodles, she'd rather read manga than hang with friends, and according to her not so polite cousin she dresses like a man. But her biggest one? Well that would have to be a 6'5" Quiluete by the name of Seth Clearwater.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so here we go. I originally have this story posted on FF.net. I'll still be posting on both sites though, so yah. My pen name there is BlackRoseOfDeath123. Happy reading ;)

As I strolled through the forest in my wolf form, I noticed myself getting pretty close to the tree line. I was on my way to Sam and Emily’s place to chill after my rounds, and I usually pass a few of the more isolated houses on the way. I know I’m not supposed to get too close in my wolf form, but every time I passed by a certain house there always seemed to be music playing. I had the best hearing out of all of my pack brothers so it was especially noticeable to me. Usually I try to ignore it, but today I was feeling especially curious.

"Seth..." my alpha Sam warned me from his side of our psychic link. I wasn’t going to do anything drastic, but I really wanted to go over there. I could understand why Sam was so apprehensive, though. I had phased for the first time two weeks ago, right after my sister Leah phased for the first time, and my Dad died. I was both the youngest and the newest in the pack; he just wanted to make sure that I could control myself.

"Please Sam? I'm just a little bit curious. Besides, I promise that I won't let anyone see me! Pleeeeaaaasssseeee?" I begged him. I knew he was feeling my interest. Anyone who was in wolf form would be able to. It was part of the whole pack mentality thing.  
I could basically feel the internal battle he was having with himself, on one hand we knew that I would never willingly hurt a person; on the other hand we knew that if I saw something that set me off it could have some pretty big consequences. After what happened with Emily, Sam was all about looking forward to the consequences. Luckily for me he finally seemed to give in after what seemed like forever.

"Fine, but know that I'm only doing this because you’re an abnormally even tempered wolf." He said.

I felt my lips pull back in my own wolfish form of a grin. "Yes! Thanks Sam! But you should know that I'm also abnormally awesome." I couldn't stop myself from adding that last thought even if I wanted to. Some would say it was immature, but with all the heavy stuff going on with the pack right now, Sam deserved a little immaturity. Hell, the guy deserved a peace prize what with all the chaos he was keeping at bay.

"I'll add that to the list, right under abnormally stupid." He shot back.

"I'm hurt, I really am. Is that what you think of me?" I said in a mocking tone as I made it to a spot where I could see the house, yet still stay hidden.   
A few seconds later I felt both Paul and Embry shift. If asked to describe the feeling, I don’t think I’d actually be able to. It was sort of like waking up after a long nights sleep, only you’re waking up to three minds instead of one. All yours, but not.   
"Babysitters?" I guessed.

"No. I'm sending them over so they can start their rounds. Once you’re done sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, they’ll start from there." Sam replied.

"Cool." I said sarcastically while rolling my eyes.

When I finally settled into my spot, I looked over at the house. I sniffed and caught the faint scent of cinnamon in the air. The white house wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. It had a wraparound porch and swing in the back. A baseball bat, glove, and ball were lying beside the back door. The house looked like a family house; warm and inviting. I liked it. It had a huge backyard that I would have killed for when I was younger.

"I'd still kill for a backyard that fucking huge, especially this far out where no one can get pissed off at you for accidentally throwing a football in their backyard." Paul said.

I chuckled at the thought. 

I was probably there for about 5 minutes before I heard music start to play.   
"...About a world that never was and never will be! Have you no shame? Don't you see me? You know you've got everybody fooled."

The voice was haunting and it sent shivers down my spine. It was coming from a laptop that a small girl was walking out with. She walked over to the railing that surrounded the porch and hopped up, setting the computer on her lap once she was settled. She looked about 12, but then again she was a bit too curvy to be that young, so she had to be more around my age. She was wearing a baggy long sleeved thermal shirt and a tight pair of cotton shorts, along with a pair of small rectangular black framed glasses. As I took in her features I remembered that I'd seen her in class before. If I remembered correctly her name was Onyx.

Just then Embry and Paul arrived and sat down at my sides.

"Why are you here again?" Embry asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He came to ogle her huge tits and complement her emo music." Paul replied in that ‘I’m such an asshole’ way of his.

"Shut up Paul, you're going to ruin his innocence." Embry told him, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Don't need to, that blonde chick already did it for me. In two positions if I remember correctly." Paul's grin was a smug one.

If I was human, I'm sure my face would have been beet red. I honestly preferred not to think about things like that; especially since about 10 other people could damn near experience my thoughts...

"Eh,hehehe... Yah, well I honestly don't know why I'm here. I guess I just heard the music and decided to finally come see who was playing it. It turned out to be her. I'm pretty sure that she's in one of my classes." I said awkwardly, trying to hide my embarrassment. It was bad enough that I had to constantly live through not so innocent images of the guy’s past girlfriends, (or in Jared’s case, imprint) I seriously didn’t need the guys to know about the girls I’ve dated.

"What's her name?" Embry asked. 

"Um, I think it's Onyx? She's supposed to be really smart because she took a few 9th grade classes when she was in 8th, but..." I said, glad that we had moved on to a different topic.

"But what?" Paul asked.

"I'm pretty sure she's mute... Well not completely, I think I heard that it's some type of psychological thing. You know, like she can talk, it's just that she's not comfortable with speaking or something..." I said, uncomfortable with talking about people behind their backs.

"Oh..." Embry thought.

"Damn..." Paul put in.

"Yah..."

We all turned back to look at her. She looked normal enough. The only thing noticeably weird about her was the fact that her hair was so long, it was like to her thighs. Besides that she looked like a normal, if a little quiet, girl. You could tell that she wasn't Native American though; her features were a little different. If I had to guess, I would say that she was a mix of quite a few nationalities. African American most likely being one of them. As I thought this, it started to sprinkle.

"Dammit, I hate patrolling in the rain!" Paul thought angrily. I swear the guy could get ticked off by anything.

"I like the rain." I told him.

"Not for patrolling. It makes the terrain slippery, and it gets rid of scents and trails." Embry said.

"Oh." I thought, still secretly liking the calm fury that came with a good storm.

As the rain picked up and it turned from a soft sprinkle, to a hard pelt, Onyx still continued to stay outside. It was like she was oblivious to the world around her as she typed away. Finally, when the rain got to its highest tempo yet, she looked up at the gray clouds that hid the sky and smiled.

My breath caught in my throat. Her smile was beautiful, it lit up her eyes and made her entire face glow. I felt my head tilt to the side as I stared at her in wonder.

"Hey Seth, are you okay?" Embry asked, concern lacing his voice.

I ignored him and instead watched Onyx set her laptop on a table on the porch and bolt into her house. I whimpered, saddened by the fact that she was no longer in my sight. 

Paul batted at my tail with his paw. "Hey! Earth to Seth! Anyone home in there dumbass?"

Again I ignored my pack brother in favor of watching Onyx as she came out without shoes holding the hand of a boy who looked to be about 9 years old. He looked a little bit like her, so I suspected that he was her brother. She still had her stunning smile in place as she stepped over to her laptop, turning her music to its top volume.

"Onyx I am a sun loving child, I am not going out there with you." the boy said in an irritated tone.

At his words my eyes widened along with Paul's and Embry's.

"She's not going to..."

"She wouldn't..."

"Huh..."

She laughed at him and nodded her head persistently. He grimaced. It was obvious that she wasn't going to let her brother go anytime soon.

She put on a song and blasted it loud.

"I like sunshine. Zach Willows does not do rain. I'm not going out there with you." the boy, Zach, said.

She smiled again and pulled him down the steps into the ice cold pouring rain. The second the rain touched his skin Zach started to squirm his way out of Onyx's grasp.

"It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten  
What the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them  
As the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping  
Through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten"

She grabbed both of Zach's wrists and spun him in circles, laughing her head off in the process. "You're crazy!" her brother said, yet he was laughing too.

"Yah, she is fucking nuts..." Paul thought. I shot him a sharp look and growled before turning back to watch Onyx dance.

"There is no reconciliation that will put me in my place  
And there is no time like the present to drink these draining seconds  
But seldom do these words ring true when I'm constantly failing you  
Like walls that we just can't break through until we disappear"

She let her brother go and with her back to me, she raised her hands in the air, threw her head down, and started randomly swaying her hips.

Her brother laughed at her as rain ran down his face.

She waved her hand, silently inviting him to dance with her.

"So tell me now  
If this ain't love then how do we get out?  
Because I don't know  
That's when she said I don't hate you boy  
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save  
That's when I told her I love you girl  
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have"

He shook his head and smiled at her with a smile that showed the fact that he had a few teeth missing. He then shrugged and started doing some horrifying version of the sprinkler.

"But the day pressed on like crushing weights  
For no man does it ever wait  
Like memories of dying days  
That deafen us like hurricanes  
Bathed in flames we held the brand  
Uncurled the fingers in your hand  
Pressed into the flesh like sand  
Now do you understand?"

She doubled over in laughter. I watched as she reached out to grab him, trying to get him to stop his one man horror show. She then promptly lost her footing and fell into the mud.

I felt my ears flatten against my head in my wolfish version of a wince.

"Woooow..." Embry thought, trying not to laugh.

"So tell me now  
If this ain't love then how do we get out?  
Because I don't know  
That's when she said I don't hate you boy  
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save  
That's when I told her I love you girl  
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have"

Covered in mud, Onyx got up and walked over to her now laughing brother.

"I told you that this wasn't a good idea." Zach said.

She shrugged with a mischievous smile on her face and gave him a huge hug, effectively sharing her mud with him.

He yelped then pushed her, which made him slip, which made her slip with him, which meant that both of them ended up in the mud.

"Smooth...Real smooth..." Paul thought in a sarcastic tone.

"At least their having fun..." Embry said while observing the laughing siblings wrestle in the mud.

"1000 miles away  
There's nothing left to say  
But so much left that I don't know  
We never had a choice  
This world is too much noise  
It takes me under  
It takes me under once again  
I don't hate you  
I don't hate you, no"

Just then an old Native American woman walked out on the porch holding two robes.

"You two have had your fun, now you both better come in now." she said in a gentle voice that held an underlying tone of authority.

They both immediately got up and went running towards her, pushing each other on the way.

"So tell me now  
If this ain't love then how do we get out?  
Because I don't know  
That's when she said I don't hate you boy  
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save  
That's when I told her I love you girl  
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have"

"That was interesting..." Embry said.

"To say the least..." Paul murmured.

I watched Onyx take a robe from the woman's hand and wrap it around herself with a bright smile on her face. She picked up her computer, getting ready to go inside. At the thought of her leaving my sight once again my heart constricted. I slowly moved towards the edge of the trees.

"Seth! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Paul practically screamed. His anger pushed through the link and I could feel his irritation begin to edge into fear. I didn’t know why he was so afraid. I was just a little bit tense. I just needed to get to her and everything would be alright…

As she turned towards the back door, I threw back my head and before Paul and Embry could stop me I let out an earth shattering howl.

When I lowered my head I looked towards Onyx and found her staring straight at me, eyes wide and her smile gone.

We locked eyes and I stopped breathing. I felt my whole world shift to revolve solely around her. She was now my heart, my only reason for living. She was mine and all I wanted to do was claim her as such. I started to move towards her when the old woman yanked on her arm, pulling her inside in the process. The woman gave me a knowing look and a small, mysterious smile before she shut the door. Though she didn’t used much force at all, it felt like she had slammed it in my face.

I pulled back my lips and snarled at her. Onyx was my mine, my mate, my imprint. Just as I would've lunged, Paul and Embry got in front of me and pushed me back into the forest.   
Their emotions were blending with mine, confusing me. We were angry, scared, irritated. We wanted Onyx, but we needed to get away- NO, we needed to get closer to her- but no she might get hurt-   
They forced me to phase back into my human form, then phased back into theirs.

"What the hell just happened?" Paul asked, holding my arm so I wouldn't go running stark naked into Onyx's home to steal her away.


	2. Chapter 2

**_ Onyx _ **

**_"Ohhh, I miss the misery!_ **

****_I've been a mess since you stayed,_  
I've been a wreck since you changed,  
Don't let me get in your way,  
I miss the lies and the pain,  
The fights that keep us awake-ake-ake  
I'm tellin you!

 ** _I miss the bad things,  
The way you hate me,  
I miss the screaming,  
The way that you blame me!  
Miss the phone calls,  
When it's your fault,  
I miss the late nights,_** ****  
 _Don't miss you at all!_  
I like the kick in the face,  
And the things you do to me!  
I love the way that it hurts!  
I don't miss you, I miss the misery!"

The harsh words cut through the silence of my room, effectively awakening me from my sleep. To groggy to lift my face from my warm pillow, I let out a soft breath before rolling over and blindly groping for my phone. The tips of my fingers met the cold wood off my dresser as I searched. After what seemed like I forever, I finally found the stupid thing.

I love my phone. Really, I do. But unfortunately, when it's waking you up the morning, sometimes the things you love have to move to the hate list, just for a while.

I lifted my face from my pillow just enough for me to see the notification on my screen. I immediately pressed snooze, and dropped my face back into its space on my pillow.

It was 7:40 and I needed to get up for my first day of high school, which started at 8:45. Now usually the moment my alarm goes off I jump up and start my morning routine, but today I needed just a minute to get up and running. Usually this only happens when I don't get a lot off sleep.

Now I'm used to getting minimal sleep anyway because of my habit of staying up late to read fanfiction and manga, so it really wipes me out to lose what few precious hours I get. Every now and again, I'd have a dream that seemed so real that it would leave me in fits of restlessness as I slept though.

The night before was one of those times. It'd been happening off and on for a while now, ever since I'd seen that wolf in the beginning of summer in fact.

The dream would start off in the back yard. I'd be standing alone in the middle of the grass; I'd be able to feel the subtle coolness of the greenery beneath my bare toes. All of a sudden I'd see two huge brown eyes staring out me from the haunting darkness of the forest. The eyes would slowly move closer until a furry snout and huge sandy brown paws were revealed. At this point I would start moving closer to the gigantic animal. The cool night air would seep into my skin and make its way through my body. By the time I reach the animal, I'm chilled to the bone. The animal, a wolf from what I can see, tilts its massive head towards me. For some  _stupid_  unexplainable reason, I reach out towards the obviously lethal thing and gently stroke his muzzle. The moment my fingers touch his silky fur, my skin practically catches fire. The creature nuzzles into my hand. Unafraid, I start to lean closer. All of a sudden, the wolf tenses up. His powerful muscles coil, and his lips pull back in a fearsome snarl. His moth opens and I'm faced with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth. For the first time something actually seems to make sense as fear finally registers within my psyche. I snatch my hand back and turn on my heel to run away. Before I even make a full turn, however, the wolf’s gaping jaws clamp on the juncture where my neck and shoulder meet.

I feel no pain. It is the strangest thing, for in that moment, there is nothing but blackness. And in the night, once the dream (or nightmare) ends, I always wake up with overheated skin and a chill so deep I can feel it in my very bones.

Finally after what seems like forever, but only turns out to be two minutes, I get up and out of bed.

The moment my feet touch the floor I stretch and dig my toes into the plush carpet.

Once I’m done stretching, I get up to look for my glasses. I had left them on my computer last night, which meant I had to go all the way to the other end of my room practically blind. Brilliant.

I stumbled over to my window seat where I had left my laptop. I groped around the blurry black object until I found my glasses. I slid the spectacles onto my nose and let out a small sigh as the world came into focus around me.

I glanced out of the window and noticed that it was drizzling outside. I smiled to myself because I absolutely love the rain. Something about the beautiful drops always seems to calm me.

After I made my bed I went over to my closet to pick out an outfit for the day. I briefly went through my clothes before grabbing a red Sleeping with Sirens tee and a plain black long sleeved tee to go under. My Sleeping with Sirens shirt was in a male size, but I didn't really mind. The slight bagginess allowed for extra layers on cold days such as this. That and they were pretty darn comfortable.

After picking out my shirts, I grabbed one of my skinny jeans. I usually only wore loose skinny jeans and straight leg jeans. Despite what most teenage girls seemed to think, I found looser jeans far more comfortable.

Since it was raining, I picked out my black docs before heading to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then threw on a pair of boy shorts and a bra under my clothes. Now all that was left was my hair. I'd cut it to the middle of my back about a month ago. The frizzy mass of curls and waves were barely being held back in a braid I'd put them in last night. Picking up a brush, I quickly undid my pitiful braid and brushed my hair. Afterwards, I entwined the strands and threw the thick braid over my shoulder. Despite my efforts, stray strands still seemed to be sticking out all over. I contemplated trying again, but then I thought back on past attempts and decided that I didn't really care.

Fully dressed, I headed back towards my room to grab my things. Right before I reached the door I was stopped by the sound of my name. I turned to see my older cousin Katie.

Katie was 3 years older than me and in her last year of high school. She was absolutely beautiful and part of the popular crowd. She was also a completely stuck up bitch, but I loved the stupid chick. Though she wouldn't think twice before tearing down a person because of how they looked or acted, she was also an extremely family oriented girl. No matter what she always found time in her busy schedule to spend with me and Zach. Whether we wanted her too or not.

Katie walked towards me before speaking.

"So babe, Trish will be here in like, ten minutes to pick us up, kay?"

I nodded and gave her a small smile before heading into my room to lace up my boots and grab my backpack. I sat down on my window seat before tightening my red laces; I'd changed them earlier to match my shirt.

I threw on my favorite black hoodie before going down stairs to wait for Katie. It'd only been about five minutes before she came down the stairs in all of her high heeled glory.

"Trish is here, so you better hurry up." She told me before shouting a goodbye to Gran, who was in the kitchen, and heading out of the door.

I jumped up and hurried to the kitchen to give Gran a hug goodbye. I loved giving Gran hugs. She always smelled like snicker doodles, my favorite cookie.

Once I was done, I hurried outside and jumped into Trish's car.

Trish was a lot like Katie in some ways. Both were tall and beautiful, what with their flawless tan skin and black shining hair. Trish, however, had pretty brown eyes, whereas Katie had stunning hazel eyes. Katie and Trish had slightly different styles as well.

For example, today Trish was in a pale yellow skin tight long sleeved shirt, and extra skinny jeans along with flat black boots that had stylish buckles. Katie, however, was in an almost criminally short light pink skirt and a cream long sleeved blouse with warm cream colored thigh highs and tall tan boots.

Trish turned to me once I was settled in.

“Hey little girl, ready for your first day of hell?" She said with a grin.

I let out a small laugh and nodded. She turned back around with a catty grin and started the car.

It took us about ten minutes to get to the school, and another five or so to park and actually get out of the car. I spent a majority of these five minutes watching Trish and Katie reapply their lipstick and touch up their eye shadow.

Once we got out of the car I put on my back pack and clasped my hands inside of my hoodie pocket.

It took us forever to reach the front of the school because Trish and Katie kept stopping to talk to random people. I mean really, these girls were far too popular for their own good. Or at least for my wellbeing. I swear if one more person stops Katie to tell her how good she looks today my head is going to implode.

When we finally did reach the doors, there was less than 5 minutes before school started.

"Okay baby girl, we should get to our classes. It would totally suck if we were late on our first day. I'll take you to your first class, and then I have to head to mine." Katie told me.

I nodded with a slight smile on my face before following her. As much as I hated having to stop every 2 seconds, I still didn't want to take the chance of getting lost on the first day. Somehow the thought of walking in late and having every eye in the room on me was just not that appealing. I'd shown her my schedule yesterday anyway, so she knew my classes without me having to tell her.

I was happy to find out that I had math first. I love math, it's my favorite subject because numbers have always come easiest to me.

As we went through the halls, I noticed many mixed reactions to our presence. Some people, mostly guys, stared at Trish and Katie with obvious lust. (Which I found slightly gross. I mean really, we're in a school, not a strip club.) A lot of the girls either sneered or smiled in their general direction. (Jealousy is an old hag apparently.) Some people, mostly freshman, looked on at them in obvious awe. I could understand why considering they were both queen bees. Their auras practically screamed "popular".

I, on the other hand, received mostly confused glances. I could tell people were either confused as hell or simply thought I just happened to be walking behind them. I was severely out of place walking with my cousin and her friend. Instead of being offended though, I just brushed it off.

"So I had Mr. Stillbrooke when I was a sophomore, he's really cool so you'll like him. We have to go to class now little miss, so text us if you need anything, kay?" Trish said to me.

"Yah." I said to her with a smile. Despite what most people seemed to think, I wasn't mute. I just don't talk a lot.

Both girls smiled and gave me a hug before strutting off to their first period. As I watched them go the bell rang. I turned my back on them and hurried into class.

Not many people were there yet, and for that I was glad. It's easier to find a seat. I chose one in the middle next to a window so that I could watch the rain. This particular window faced the forest outside of the school.

I looked out of the window lazily without really seeing as I thought about the drops of water. Sometimes I wondered what it would be like if I was rain. I thought about what it would be like falling recklessly to earth, cleansing the world as I fell. Dispersing as I collided with objects, only to reform in a misshaped puddle. Evaporating later to float in the never ending sky. Repeating this cycle endlessly.

As I thought of this, my eyes settled on a leaf. My thoughts abruptly began anew on another pointless topic. I thought about the patterns on leaves. I wondered of I would remember this leaf tomorrow, if I could find it again. I doubted it because it looked like all of the others.

My thoughts continued like this until I heard my name being called. I abruptly snapped out of my daydreaming state and looked around.

The classroom was now filled with students and I noticed that our teacher was standing in the front of the classroom to take roll. I felt my cheeks heat slightly and I raised my hand high. Damn I need to pay more attention.

He smiled at me and checked me off.

After that, I paid attention through the rest of the class. He briefly explained the curriculum for the year before he gave us time to do whatever we want. He said that instead of icebreaker activities, he'd just let us move around and socialize.

Since I didn't really want to do that, I just took out my mp3 and put my ear buds in. I took out my Harry Potter book and read for the rest of the class.

Once the bell rung I quickly put my stuff away an went to my next class, which was history. I didn't even bother trying to leave my stuff in my locker because Katie was going to show me how to work my lock at lunch and I had no desire to try to work the thing myself.

Once I found my class, I again chose a seat near a window. Unfortunately the only window seat left was in the very back. Which I found weird considering the back was usually very popular. I brushed it off because I was just happy that I'd gotten my window seat. No point in looking a gift horse in the mouth.

I sat and daydreamed. I tended to do that a lot. So much, in fact, that Katie used to get pissed at me a lot for spacing out during conversations. She doesn't get mad as much now because she knows that I don't do it on purpose, I just have a somewhat short attention span.

By the time the second bell had rung, all the seats had a student except for the one next to me, which only had a backpack.

I hadn't noticed anyone come in and leave their stuff, but then again, I wasn't exactly paying attention. I really needed to start being a little more attentive. Seriously, if the school caught fire I'd probably burn while watching a squirrel or something. That was not the way I wanted to die. At all.

I turned and glanced outside only to see a small furry mammal dart up a tree. I watched it disappear between the branches before jerking away and shaking my head. At that moment I swear I felt the temperature rise significantly. Irony at its best.

"Well fuck you too life." I muttered to myself with a sour expression on my face.

"Well now, what did life ever do to get on your bad side?" said a masculine voice on my left.

I jumped, startled. I didn't think anyone would hear me. I mean, half the time  _I_ can't even hear me.

I turned towards the voice a felt my eyes widen at the sight before me. The boy in front of me was  _huge._ And I don't mean in the "I eat too many Twinkies" way. No this guy was literally pure muscle. He had tan skin and dark close cropped hair. His limbs were long and I could tell that he would dwarf me standing up. (Not that that was hard to do, what with me being only 5' 1")

He was giving me this strange look and it made me kind of uncomfortable. His honey brown eyes were staring way too intensely into my own dark brown eyes. He was looking at me with a strange kind of heat that made shivers course through me and my stomach drop.

Combined with that his entire body was slightly angled towards me and far to tense. I mean really, I could see the guy's fingers gripping the desk in what looked like a death hold. I swear I started to hear the wood start splintering after a few seconds too. He also seemed to twitch every now and again; it was as if he was trying to restrain himself. From what, I  _really_  didn't want to know.

Ugh. Freaking creepy.

I discretely pushed my chair back in an attempt to get as far away from his way to intense gaze. I think I actually pressed my side flat against the window when he frowned at my movements.

When he noticed that his scary frown turned into a slight grimace before reverting back into the "I am way to fucking happy" smile that he had been sporting earlier. Im pretty sure the overly happy expression was forced. In the beginning it might have been real but I'm pretty sure my lack of response killed it.

I think I preferred the frown. While his smile was, admittedly, nicer to look at, his frown was far more normal considering the situation.

After a few seconds things started to become even more awkward than they were in the beginning. How is this possible you ask? Well, my habit of simply staring when spoken to seemed to play a key role in that particular development.

The situation was starting to become almost stupidly bizarre. Especially with me pressed up against the window and him burning holes through my entire body with his way to concentrated honey brown eyes. By now, any normal person would have either spoken up or straight up ignored me. Hell,  _I_  would have ignored  _him_  if I didn't have the distinct feeling that he would just keep watching me until I answered him. But unfortunately to for him, I wasn't going to answer. At all.

After the teacher gave introductions and some other crap I didn't bother it pay attention to, he gave us free time.

The weird dude and I continued our awkward (at least on my side) eye contact until the he spoke. Awkwardly might I add.

"So, uh, my name is Seth. Seth Clearwater."

I just blinked at him. He blinked back. Wonderful. It seems I was just becoming the queen of awkward today.

A nervous aura and even more tension seemed to fill his body. Considering how strung up he was before I didn't even think that was possible. But then again, what do I know.

Just then, the bell sounded. I gathered my stuff in record time and bolted out of the door as if the hounds of hell were at my heels. There was just something about him that unsettled me. I don't know if it was his size or his demeanor, or even a combination of the two that had me running, but whatever if was it made me extremely uncomfortable. To be honest, I hoped I never had to come across Seth Clearwater again. If I did, I had no idea what I'd do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me whatchya think :p


	3. Chapter 3

“Won't you come out  
We could paint the town red  
Kill a little time  
You can sleep when you're dead  
Cause it isn't over yet  
Get it out of your head

Chase a couple hearts  
We could leave 'em in shreds  
Meet me in the gutter  
Make the devil your friend  
Just remember what I said  
Cause it isn't over yet  
Just remember what I said  
Cause it isn't over yet

Say you have a little faith in me  
Just close your eyes and let me lead  
Follow me home

Need to have a little trust in me  
Just close your eyes and let me lead  
Follow me home  
To where the lonely ones roam”

The words of the song filled the silence in my room as I finished my English project up. It wasn’t due for another week or so, but I figured I might as well get it done early. It was fairly easy, but considering it was a project given in the first week of school, I didn’t think it would be that hard. 

So far none of my classes had been particularly challenging. Well, that’s not entirely true. History was a bitch, but that was probably because that kid Seth spent the entire freaking period staring at me. It was distracting to say the least. It was so distracting in fact, that even when the guy wasn’t there I couldn’t pay attention. It was absolutely ridiculous, but even though he probably skipped half the time, I still felt like he was there, watching me.

It was weird, because even though he spent the entire period building up his ‘stalker status’, I never felt like he was planning anything malicious. There were no pranks, no offhanded jokes about how I look or act, he didn’t even attempt to talk to me again. To be honest it almost felt like he was simply assessing me or something. Like he wanted to figure out every little thing about me. 

What was even weirder, however, was the fact that I found myself watching him in return. I never stared as hard as he did though. Every now and again I’d just glance at him, but the thing was I would always seem to pick up something different about him. Little details like how the light seemed to shine off his hair, how his skin was a perfect tan color, how his lips would quirk into this sad little smile every time I turned my gaze away in favor of something else. Things like that.

 

Luckily I only have one class with him so I don’t have to worry about missing the material in any of my other classes. 

“NYX!”

I jumped at the sound of my name being shouted in an over obnoxious tone that could only belong to my favorite cousin. After pausing my music and getting my blush down from being caught having Seth related thoughts, I turned to see Katie in my doorway.

“Didn’t I have that closed?” I asked her wearily.

“I opened it.” She said in a matter of fact tone.

“I can see that.” I shot back sarcastically.

We sat in silence for a while, Katie taking in my current position surrounded by homework, me simply staring back.

After about thirty seconds of blissful quiet, Katie started speaking in peppy tone.

 

“We’re going out.”

I gave her a dead look before continuing with my project.

“Right now.’’

As my pencil moved across the paper I couldn’t help but notice how empty the margins looked. I thought smiley faces would make it look better, so I started to draw a few.

“I’m serious.”

I got bored of the smiley faces pretty quickly so I started sketching a diamond.

“…..”

I had just started doodling a cat when my paper was pulled abruptly from the side and my messenger bag was thrown at me. I spent a good fifteen seconds wondering why it had hurt so much before I realized that my laptop was in it. After having that wonderful epiphany I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling with my bag encircled in my arms.

“….I really have to go…..” I asked desolately.

“What do you think?”

With a sigh I rolled off of my bed and onto the floor before slowly getting to my feet. There was really no arguing with this girl.

“You are so weird.” Katie remarked.

I ignored her in favor of putting on my hoodie and docs. Before I had even stuck my foot in one boot, however, I was being assaulted with a pair of flip flops.

“No heavy layers!”

I rubbed the back of my head where one had hit me before asking her why.

“We’re going to the beach.” 

I gave her WTF look before switching my jeans for some basketball shorts and throwing on her flip flops. I would have put on mine, but yah, I don’t really own any. I don’t actually own any open toed shoes at all…

Anyway, after I put on my clothes, I grabbed my bag and headed towards Katie’s room. Her room was an explosion of clothes and color with her in the center. She was pulling on a tank top, which was really stupid considering that even when the sky was cloudless out here it wasn’t exactly tank top weather. Whatever though. It’s her choice I guess.

Once she caught sight of me in my light hoodie and shorts she told me to head out to the car. Apparently Gran was going to let us borrow it for the day so that was cool. The thing was probably as old as dirt, but it worked pretty well so Katie was fine with driving when she needed to. Considering Trish had a car though, Katie never really needed to drive Gran’s.

By the time Katie had come out to the car and gotten on the road, I had my mp3 on playing Mayday Parade. I watched scenery fly by and before I knew it we were at the beach. It was usually like that whenever I rode in a car. As soon as I put my music on time just seemed to slip away. I’d always stare out of the window, but as many times as I’d seen the houses on my block on the way to school, I couldn’t tell you what a single one of them looked like. Not surprising since I probably couldn’t tell you what my own house looked like half the time.

After grabbing my bag out of the back seat where I’d thrown it earlier, I hopped out of the car. I walked around to Katie’s side and noticed that Trish’s car was parked a little ways away. That wasn’t really much of a surprise considering Trish and Katie nearly went everywhere together no matter what. What I was a little curious about, however, was why we didn’t just ride with Trish. I briefly considered asking Katie, but then I decided not to in favor of asking why were even at the beach in the first place.

We walked until we hit the sand before she answered with a self-satisfied smirk on her face and her finger pointing towards the water.

“That’s why.”

It took me a minute to register what I was seeing, but when I did I nearly tripped mid step.

Just at the shore there was a group of guys messing around. Now normally I wouldn’t have cared, but these guys were all shirtless and in the middle of what looked like a mock valley ball game. Well, that and the fact that the bane of my existence was smack in the middle of them. 

I mean he already completely fucked up my focus in history; did life really need to throw him out here to ruin my weekend? 

“What’s your problem?” Katie asked seeing the distressed expression on my face.

Instead of answering her, I turned around and prepared to haul ass right back to the car. I don’t know about the rest of the world, but I had no problem spending my day curled around my computer in the backseat. When push came to shove one had to be ready to throw pride to the wind and hide away every now and again. Especially when it came to Seth Clearwater, because that dude looked like he could shove pretty damn hard.

Unfortunately, before I could even take a step, Katie was dragging me over to Trish farther into the beach. I tried to twist out of her grip, but the girl had her claws in deep so that was a no ago. I swear by the time she dropped me next to Trish there were twin furrows in the sand from my attempt to dig my feet into the beach.

“You’re attempts are futile so you better just give up now.” Katie said in a sing song tone of voice.

“Oooh, look. Barbie can use big words.” I murmured sourly before rolling onto my stomach, then burying my face in the gigantic blanket Trish had apparently brought.

“I heard that.” Katie said before settling down next to me to enjoy her boy stalking- I mean watching activitties.

Instead of dignifying her response with an answer, I attempted to set up my laptop from my awkward position on my stomach. After about a minute of maneuvering I had it set up in front of me and powering on. I know I should have gotten up, but that would have made my chances of Seth catching sight of me significantly higher. Although they were already pretty high since the boy had an uncanny ability to find me damn near anywhere. The first time I noticed that particular attribute was on Wednesday when I had gone into the lunch room only to have holes burned into my back by a certain pair of honey brown eyes. It took almost all of self-control not to seek him out and stare right back. 

Since most girls stared at him on account of him being extremely attractive, it shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. For me it was though. I’d never been on a date, hell I don’t think I’ve ever actually found anyone attractive at all before. I mean sure I can tell if someone is aesthetically pleasing, but I’ve never actually felt that pull that other girls seemed to feel. Katie always says that I’m just frigid, but I think it’s because I’ve never found someone interesting enough to be attracted to.

It appears that Katie and I are both wrong this time though, because I was beginning to come to the stomach dropping conclusion that even if I’d never really talked to him before, there was just something about Seth Clearwater that enticed me.

It seemed that the world was just not going to give me a break, because right after I’d come to that deduction, a ball had slammed into the back of my head, affectively pushing me face first back into the blanket. Now considering it was a beach ball it shouldn’t have been that hard, but apparently whoever had hit the stupid thing had super human strength because let me tell you something: It felt like a motherfucking bowling ball.

Trish and Katie had been babbling like idiots since the damn thing struck, but the moment I started to push myself off the ground they shut up. It took me all of 0.33 seconds to put two and two together.

One: I had been hit with a beach ball and from what I can remember there was only one group out here with such an object.

Two: That group was most likely going to send someone over to get back the ball.

In that split second I actually began praying.

“Sweet God almighty, Buddha, whoever the fuck is up there please don’t let it be-“

“OhMyGodIAmSoSorryAreYouOkayDoYouNeedToGoToTheHospitalDoYouWantMeToTakeYouImSoSorryPleaseDon’tHatee!” a deep voice somehow blurted out in one breath.


	4. Chapter 4

I was wound up so tight I swear I could feel my wolf clawing at my skin. He was howling so loud I could barely hear myself think. He was more than a little irritated with me at the moment. It was always like that whenever she was near me. The guys had described the feeling of imprinting to me once, but what they told me could never have prepared me for this. I knew the second she walked into the building. It was like every one of my senses went into over drive, but just for her. Only just to hear the beat of her heart and to smell her tantalizing scent of chocolate and cinnamon. Sitting next to her in history was absolute hell. The only thing I could pay attention to in that class was her. I learned more about her breathing patterns and habits then was probably healthy, but I couldn't help myself. I was addicted to this girl, but damn I wasn't complaining.

The guys, however, were on completely different wave lengths. Well to be honest we were all on the exact  _same_  wavelength and that was the problem. Onyx was in my head every second of the day, so in an unfortunate domino effect she was also on the mind of every member of my pack. I'd be lying if I said having other guys thinking about her didn't piss me off, but it was my fault so I couldn't exactly do anything about it without looking like a total prick.

Freaking hell though, sometimes I get really irritated my pack mates. I understand that they wanted me to just talk to her so that they wouldn't have to hear about her every time they shifted, but did they really have to hit her upside the fucking head?! For god sakes they could have seriously injured her! She could have gotten a concussion or she could have broken a tooth against her computer, and god I don't even know! My eyes were looking her over from top to bottom and from what I could see she looked okay, but what I really needed her to do was say something to reassure me. I needed to hear her voice to calm me down because I swear I was about five seconds away from wolfing out. It took all I had to keep myself from turning around to pummel Paul's meddling ass into the ground. And I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't scare me.

I clenched my fists in an attempt to stop my body from shaking, but I guess I was doing a sucky job because someone was asking me if I was okay. It wasn't the quiet voice I wanted to hear though, so I almost didn't notice it. I was just that focused on Onyx.

"Hey, are you okay?" I spared about half a second to glance towards a black haired girl in a tank top before settling my sight back on Onyx. She probably didn't know what the hell I had been saying when I first ran up to her considering how fast I had been talking.

"I'm fine, but are you okay?" I asked after taking a deep breath and focusing on her scent. The delicious aroma managed to ease my anger at Paul slightly, but it still had my wolf howling in a whole other way.

She parted her lips as if to say something, but then decided better of it and just nodded. She probably just wanted me to go away. I could see the apprehension in her eyes and it almost made me sick. I knew she didn't like me very much, but seeing it so plainly on her face always made my heart clench. I'd thought I had hit the jack pot when I found out she was in my history class, but I completely screwed myself on the first day. I guess I was too intense or something because the first time I tried to talk to her she completely shut down on me. Hell, she won't even look at me in the eye. She gives me these little looks every now and again that she thinks I don't notice, but I do. They're always fleeting and I swear she gets this pretty little blush every time she does it. At first I thought it was adorable, but now I just think it's frustrating. Every time I try to catch her looking she turns back to that stupid window and it's absolutely maddening.

Speaking of looks, she was giving me an odd one right now. Her chocolate eyes had gone wide and I could hear her heartbeat picking up. With a wince I realized she was starting to freak out. She did that when I got to close. Sometimes I'd find myself leaning towards her in class and she'd get the same look on her face and she would back herself into the wall to get away from me. It hurt more than a little bit every time she did it, but after the fourth or fifth time I realized it was just an instinctual reaction for her. It actually kind of sucked because it was an instinctual reaction for me to lean towards her. Talk about irony.

"She's not. I'm Katie, and this is Onyx by the way. The other girl is Trish."

I raised my eyebrows in alarm at the other girl's interjection. Before I could speak though, Onyx was on scrambling her way over towards Katie.

" _Shut. Up."_ She hissed softly into her friend's ear. The girl just smirked and grabbed Onyx's arm to stand them both up. Seeing their movements, Trish, who I hadn't really notice before, stood up too. With a grin just as devious as Katie's, she took Onyx's other arm. Standing next to her friends, Onyx looked tinier than I already knew she was.

"Nyx needs an ice pack. There's one in my car's glove compartment. You think you could walk her there for us?" Katie asked. Her voice was almost sickeningly sweet so she probably knew Onyx didn't want to go anywhere near me. It was a bitchy move, but honestly, I really shouldn't be complaining. Since this would probably be my only chance to actually talk with Onyx, I decided to ignore her and just say yes.

"Absolutely, which one's yours?" I asked, probably just a little too eagerly.

"The blue crappy looking one." She said tossing some keys at me. I plucked them neatly out of the air before they could hit me in the face. Trish raised an eyebrow and smirked at me before bending down to whisper in Onyx's ear.

" _Go get that ice pack or I will personally make sure that the next time you go to sleep you will wake up with a face full of water proof makeup."_

Onyx gave Trish a cute little pout before fisting her hands in her pockets and walking slowly towards me. She paused by my side and I couldn't help but notice that delicious smell of hers. God she smelled like cinnamon and chocolate and I swear all I wanted to do was take a bite. The freckles on her face only served to enforce my cinnamon related thoughts. The adorable little dots started on the bridge of her nose and disappeared under the collar of her shirt. I tried not to let myself think about exactly how far those spots of color went because every time I did I found myself in an embarrassing situation down below.

As bad as it was when I was by myself, I knew it would be about a thousand times worse if she found out. I mean the girl already thought I was a freak; I have no idea what  _either_  of us would do if she thought I was a perv and began avoiding me  _even more_.

I was having a hard enough time as it was with her inches away from me five  _fucking_ days a week but not being able to touch her. I was barely hanging on with just her presence and scent. If she distanced herself away from me even more, I think I'd go insane. And not the normal kind of insane either, if that even makes any sense. No, I'm pretty sure if things got any worse I wouldn't be able to stop myself from picking her up and stealing her away from the world. That, more than anything else in the entire universe, scared the living shit out of me. I didn't know if I was ready for this kind of devotion, but I didn't really have a choice. It wasn't just the imprint bond drawing me to her anymore. It was just simply  _her._  Her personality, her quarks, the way she laughed at things when she thought no one was looking. Everything. If I wasn't bound to this girl before, than I sure as hell was now.

I was slowly drowning in self misery. I was about halfway to the point of no return when I felt a tiny finger gently poke me. God if I thought being around her smell was torture then I had a whole new type of hell coming with her touch. She'd barely even had her finger on me for a solid second and every inch of my skin was on fire. I shuddered and looked towards her. She had one eyebrow arched in question. Obviously she was wondering why I hadn't gotten my sorry ass into gear and started walking already. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words seemed to lodge themselves in my throat under her gaze. At a loss, I gave her an apologetic smile and a shrug before running my hand through my hair in exasperation. She got an odd look in her eye before turning away from me and beginning the trek to the parking lot.

I followed behind her, trying with all my might to keep my eyes off her cute little ass and my thoughts around the fact that she needed that ice pack. It only worked about half the time.


	5. Chapter 5

It's official. The world is ending. The universe has imploded. Life as we know it is finished both on earth and in the never ending void of space.

Well not really but that's what it felt like. Because god dammit Seth Clearwater was walking me to my Gran's crappy car to get an ice pack that I don't fucking need and I have no idea why. If it was literally  _anyone else_ , this entire situation could have been justified as a lame attempt to get close to my cousin. And no, I'm not being melodramatic. I've literally seen that happen before. But this wasn't anyone else. This was Seth.

It's literally only about a two minute walk to get to the piece of junk, but with Seth staring holes in my back it took forever. I swear I tried to ignore him but it was like trying to ignore a blazing fire on your freaking back. And I don't mean that in an entirely figurative way. The guy  _literally_  radiated heat. When I felt it in class, I always thought I was overreacting, but now with him this close to me it was pretty obvious that the guy was  _scorching._  I wondered for a second if he was sick, but then I glanced back at him and _nope_. His smile was way too big and his skin way to bronzed to be sick. All those slick muscles projected the absolute picture of health. In an attempt not to get overheated, I unzipped my jacket and took it off.

As if having him this close to me wasn't bad enough, when we got to the car I managed to trip and nearly slam my head into the door. Luckily my crappy reflexes were fast enough to prevent a complete disaster. Instead my palms were greeted by cold car metal.

"Fuck! I mean- Um, are you okay?"

Even as I tried not to laugh at his attempt not to cuss, I could feel my entire face flaming and I turned around to face Seth. The moment our eyes connected I could see worry in his honey brown orbs and against every bit of will power in my entire being I melted. God but this guy was an enigma. Teenage boys didn't worry about girls like me. They didn't watch quiet little tomboys fail history every day. They didn't freak over stray beach balls. They didn't offer to walk freaky girls who are too shy to talk over to cars to get  _ice packs._  Or at least I  _thought_  they didn't. But then of course, Seth Clearwater comes along and completely blows everything I  _thought_  I knew out of the water.

Hoping to get this over with as soon as possible, I nodded and gestured to the car, anticipating that he'd get the hint. Lucky for me, it seemed to get through to him that I wanted him to open the door already.

Once he did, I quickly climbed in and got the small first aid kit. I took out the icepack, but since I was fine I didn't break the bag inside so that it'd cool. I wasn't into to wasting things unnecessarily. I contemplated leaving my jacket in the car, but I figured once Seth left I'd need it again.

After catching Seth's gaze, I nodded towards the beach, and began to walk back. I made it about two steps before his deep voice rang out behind me.

"Woah, wait. Hold on, aren't you gonna use that?"

I stopped, and turned around to face him. Making sure he was looking at my face, I shook my head no. I was fine, I really didn't need it. I might have a headache for a while, but I didn't need an icepack for that.

"Are you sure?"

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I nodded once again. It seems I'd transformed from the queen of awkward to the bobble head princess in the past few minutes.

Seth was still looking at me with concern in those honeyed eyes of his. The effect was instant and I felt kind of bad for making him worry like this. In a matter of seconds, I found myself clearing my throat.

"I'm fine. I promise."

Almost immediately I turned around and speed walked towards the beach. I could hear him walking behind me, but he didn't say a thing. The word's I'd spoken had been really soft, and if it wasn't for the shocked expression on his face, I would have thought he hadn't heard me.

By the time we'd reached sand, Seth had found his way to my side. Once again, his voice startled me.

"I like your shirt."

I stopped and looked up at him over the rim of my glasses. He was extremely blurry, but that was the point. I find it's easier to talk to people when you can hardly see them. Today I had on a Shadowcat shirt. It was only one of my many comic book shirts, but it was one of my favorites.

"Really?" I asked him skeptically. Shadowcat wasn't one of the most popular superheroes.

"Yeah. Shadowcat was pretty cool. I prefer Warpath, though."

I smiled at that. Staring freaked me out, conversations freaked me out, and  _talking_  freaked me out. But comics? Yeah, I could do that.

"Warpath is pretty badass." I told him as I turned more fully towards him. I looked through my glasses so that I could better see his reaction.

He was grinning.

"Yah, he is. Have you read all the comics?"

I huffed and rolled my eyes.

"I wish, I only have a few. I haven't had a chance to get anymore."

All of a sudden Seth's smile widened and his golden eyes started to shine.

"You know I've been meaning to head to Seattle to hit the comic store. You could come with me?"

I could feel my eyes widen at the idea. God, what I wouldn't give to go, even if it was with Seth. Gran couldn't take me because she'd gotten to the age where she won't drive that far, and Katie won't set foot anywhere near a comic shop, even to drop me off.

His grin was still going full blast, and once he saw the excitement in my eyes it widened even further to show some teeth. The contrast of the white against his tan skin was pleasing to the eye. I immediately flushed at the thought and cleared my throat. I really wanted to go, but….

"Isn't that kind of far?"

He replied instantly.

"Not at all, I have my own car and I was planning to go anyway."

I shifted and chewed on my lip a bit. I could almost see the rows upon rows of comics, light reflecting off their brand new covers.

"I'll have to ask my Gran first, and actually my brother might want to go…"

My voice was hesitant, but it was the truth. Besides, it might be better if Zach went anyway. It would make it less awkward.

"That's fine," he said, "Is next Saturday at 10 am okay?"

I thought about it. Unfortunately, Zach had practice that day. I, however, did not. Still chewing on my lip, I thought hard about it. I'd been waiting for some time to get some new reading material since I'd finished off the last of my manga a while ago. Now, a prime opportunity was being presented. Yah, Seth was a bit weird, but who am I to talk. Besides, he doesn't give me a  _bad_  feeling. He just puts me a little… On edge. That, and he seems like a generally nice guy. I mean, he did worry about my head getting smashed by that stupid ball, and he walked me to get an icepack… A free ride wouldn't be so bad. If worse came to worse, I could always go off and leave him be until it was time to leave… Yah, that would work.

"Yeah. I'll ask Gran. I guess I'll tell you at school on Monday?"

He shook his head.

"No need, I'll give you my number and you can just text me."

I felt my eyebrows rise, but I didn't question him. Instead, I continued to chew on my poor lips while I pulled out my phone. I nodded towards Trish and Katie and began walking.

"What is it?" I asked him quietly.

As we walked, I added 'Seth Clearwater' to my contacts. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and sat down on the blanket once we reached my cousin and her friend.

I looked up at him standing in front of us, big smile still on his face. And then I looked up some more. God the guy is  _tall._

I gave him a small smile, and waved in an attempt to get him to leave. It was kind of bitchy considering he just offered to drive me to Seattle, but the sooner he left, the sooner  _I_ could leave.

I felt bad as a little of that infectious light in Seth's eyes faded, but there was no helping it. He was probably just sad that he'd missed a chance to talk to Trish and Katie after my dismissal. With one last smile, I watched as Seth turn and jogged back to his friends. I watched them horse around for a minute before I turned back to my company.

Both girls were looking at me with narrowed eyes and knowing smirks.

"What?" I said as I blinked at them. They were always giving me weird looks like this.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Gran had said yes almost immediately. It had actually been an extremely short affaire:

"Gran, Seth Clearwater is going to the Comic store in Seattle next Saturday at 10 am. Can I catch a ride with him?" I'd asked, fully expecting multiple questions and a deliberation period.

"Oh, Sue's sweet boy? Sure. I'll give you some money on Saturday then."

Instead I'd gotten that.

Half in excitement, and half in awe, I'd texted Seth an hour later with a confirmation. There, my expectations had been neatly blown right the fuck out of the water as well. I'd been expecting a quick 'okay' or something. Instead, I'd gotten this long spiel about how excited he was. I suppose it had been kind of nice to see a nerd like me psyched over going to get some new reading material, but I digress.

Somehow, (and I say somehow as if this isn't completely Seth's doing) I ended up texting him all weekend. And when I say all weekend, I mean  _all fucking weekend._ That first text of 'I can go.' Seemed to be the catalyst for him. It seemed he wasn't one to sleep either, because I'd received texts from him all the way up until I fell asleep. And I usually stay up until a few hours past midnight.

And it was weird. We talked about all kinds of shit. Mostly nerdy shit, keep in mind, but we talked none the less. It was actually… Kind of nice. It's easier to text than it is to talk face to face, and I learned that the hard way.

Again, I'd had expectations for what was going to happen the following Monday. Seth actually physically talking to me was not one of them. At that point I'd figured he was just generally a nice person, and had decided casually befriend that one chick who doesn't speak to anyone (i.e me.)

But, I admit it, I had been pleasantly surprised when he actually talked to me on Monday. Granted, I didn't say much back, but it was nice none the less. Seth was actually pretty funny, and really pleasant. Sure, I'd learned that over the weekend, but certain things just can't be conveyed through text. Like how his eyes lit up with  _genuine_ caring whenever he talked about his family or friends. Or how the guy managed to eat more than me. (Which is horrifying because I eat a lot.) Or how when I did talk, he actually listened to me, and let me get my painfully slow words out. (I'm looking at you Katie.)

However, that didn't mean it was any less awkward, but whatever. I'm the queen of awkward. It follows me I suppose. At least he finally stopped the whole staring thing. It seemed being in school worked as a pretty good buffer as well. For some reason, he seemed to miss a lot of his classes, and he… wasn't doing so hot in a few of his subjects. Lucky for him, I have no life, ergo; I was in supreme position to help him bring his dismal grades to life. Except I hadn't told him that. He'd figured that out himself after he learned about the whole grade skippy thing I did. And then he basically announced that I was to be his tutor. Yay. At least I know how I'm going to get my community service hours.

All that said, he was actually pretty fun to hang out with.

And so her I am, staring silently at my ceiling, my back on my carpeted floor, and my legs flat against the wall as all hell broke loose behind me.

"Don't you have  _any_  clothes to wear?"

I let my eyes roam towards the direction of the agitated voice behind me and caught sight of my cousin staring at me in disgust. She was staring at me, obviously expecting an answer, and I had to fight off the urge to point to all of my  _perfectly_  clean,  _perfectly_ comfortable things hanging in the closet. Instead, I simply blinked, and turned my gaze back towards the bumpy plaster above me.

I'm pretty sure the particular clump directly in my line of sight was in the shape of a heart. The clump next to it looked kind of like a square. The entire ceiling in general kind of reminded me of the night sky, what with all the shapes and all. I bet if I asked, Gran would let me take a sharpie and draw-

"Onyx!" a voice practically screeched behind me.

And with that, my reverie was broken. Sighing, I made to get up. As I moved, my muscles groaned and protest and I winced. The whole 90 degree angle thing was only comfortable when you were actually  _in_  the position. Getting up from it? Not so much.

As I stretched, Katie began to berate my choice of clothing,  _again_. To be honest I didn't really see what was wrong with it. It was absolutely pouring buckets of freezing rain outside, and it was going to be the same, if not worse in Seattle. Because of that, I'd donned my docs, a beanie, jeans, a sweatshirt, and a rain coat. All in all I felt pretty prepared for a cold day. So I tried to tell her so.

"Katie-"

"No! Don't you Katie me, I will  _not_  have any cousin of my going out on her first date looking like a bum!"

"This isn't a da-"

"Yes it  _is._  Oh my god it's so cute that you're shy and everything, but you can't honestly expect me to believe that you don't know when a hot guy is asking you out."

"He's 16-"

"So!"

I groaned at her interjection, and fought the urge to throttle her.

"He didn't-"

"He  _did_. He's driving you to Seattle and everything!"

At the moment I was wondering if a slap upside the head would knock some sense into her.

"For  _comics_ -"

"Bullshit! He's totally into you!"

I sighed. Of course she would cut me off before I could even get a word in. The weird chick was insistent that this was a date, no matter how many times I told her otherwise.

Sighing once again, I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose before glancing at the clock on my wall. It read 9:53. Seth would probably be here any minute. Deciding to completely ignore my fiery cousin, I grabbed my bag and began reorganizing its contents: computer out, phone in, candy wrappers out, actual candy in, wallet out, money in wallet, wallet back in, etc.

As I completed my objective, Katie was oddly silent, that is until my phone went off. Glancing again at the clock, I decided I still had a few minutes that I could use to finish with my bag. Honestly I should have been done by now, but whatever. It is what it is.

Katie, however, was having none of my passive behavior. Before I could even blink my phone was being snatched right up from under my nose by a mint green manicured hand.

I heard the tell-tale sound of a call connecting before my cousin spoke.

"Hello?"

I laughed at the sound of her voice, and she sent me a dark look. The tone she was using now was far different than the one she'd been using a few minutes ago. She'd done a fine job of replacing annoyance with cheery hospitality and I marveled at her skill.

Even as I gathered my stuff, I could hear the muffled speaking coming from the speaker of my phone. It was low, however, so I couldn't make out the words. For now, I was only privy to my cousin's side of the conversation.

"Nope, sorry, this is Katie. Nyx is busy at the moment."

I noted more muffled speaking as I finished with my bag and threw it over my shoulder.

"Mhm, waiting at the door you say? Sure, I'll tell her. She'll be down in a sec," at this, Katie gave me a sly smile and I felt my stomach sink.

"She is just  _so_  excited by the way."

I narrowed my eyes at her and pinched her arm on my way out of the door. The stupid bitch didn't even flinch. Instead, she gave a cheery goodbye and threw my phone at the back of my head.

I picked it up and glared at her, rubbing the back of my now sore cranium.

"Bitch," I muttered.

"Gremlin," she jeered back.

Before either one of us could engage in a good ribbing, my Gran interjected from downstairs.

"You're both horrible children in your own unique ways. Now Nyx you better get your behind down here before your poor boy freezes his nose off in the cold."

Knowing better then to keep Gran waiting, I hauled ass down stairs, Katie right behind me. Gran was, of course, standing at the open door. Or, to be more accurate, Seth was taking up every inch of space in the doorframe, so she was standing  _in front_ of the door.

Fuck that guy is big.

I eyed him wearily, merry smile and all. I made my way towards Gran and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Luckily she was only about an inch or so taller than me, so I didn't have to stand on my tippy toes to do it.

"Have fun, and remember to call me when you get there." I nodded in agreement with Gran's request before giving Katie a hug. I grimaced when she held on for an extra second just so she could say "You're still a fucking hobbit."

I blew a raspberry at her tank top clad back as she sauntered away. Probably not the most mature thing, but whatever.

I turned to around to see Seth's entire frame shaking, and I was mildly alarmed before I realized that he was  _laughing_.

' _Huh.'_  I thought before taking in the rest of him. He was in blue hoodie, stained dark with fat drops of rain, and his short hair was spiked and wet. I blinked at him and shook my head. Could the guy not pull up his own hood?

As if he'd read my thoughts, he replied.

"My car is only a few steps away; I didn't think I'd get that wet."

I didn't really feel it was necessary to reply, so I didn't. Instead, I walked closer towards the door, forcing him to move out of the way, and flipped up my own hood over my unruly locks. Obviously taking the hint, he did the same with a laugh.

I walked out of the door, and with a wave, Gran shut it.

I turned towards Seth to see him smiling brightly at me, as always. We stood there for a few awkward moments before he realized that I wasn't going to speak up.

"Ah, my car is right there," he said, pointing to a black truck that wasn't actually in too bad of a condition. I gave a small nod, and made my way over towards, the vehicle, hopping that the day wouldn't end up painfully awkward.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

The moment Seth figured out what I was doing, he rushed in front of me and actually opened the door  _for_ me. Being the oh so eloquent and un weird child I am, I stopped, in the middle of the rain, and stared at him like he'd grown a second head. Cowed by my scrutiny, Seth had the good grace to actually blush. And, of course, since he was blushing, like the oh so mystical power of the yawn, it became contagious. Aaaand now we were both standing in the rain, slowly turning into tomatoes.

"Um… Are you going to get in the car?" he sounded so uncertain and it kind of made me feel weird. So I rushed into the car, trying to take up as little space as possible and avoiding his gaze. I immediately took off my hood and shrugged off my not thoroughly drenched coat, setting it neatly at my feet. I set my bag on my lap, and took out the small wash cloth I'd packed to wipe it off. Thank god it was water proof. I heard more than saw the door close, and the same went for when he entered the car.

Except the latter I noticed far quicker because the moment he got in, it actually got a little warmer. And I'm not even saying some sappy romantic shit either. The window next to him literally fogged up. Like, honest to god fogged up. He didn't even notice either. He just started up the car and asked me if I wanted the heater on. Wait what.

"The heater's not on?" I asked, voice full of uncertainty. When I got in the cab was already significantly warmer than outside. I'd just unconsciously assumed he'd had it turned up on the way here. Except…

I glanced towards the heater switch and noticed that the little red and blue dial thingy wasn't even on heat. It was all the way on the blue end. Which meant that it hadn't been used in quite some time. Yet it was toasty in here. I knew the guy was pretty warm, but damn. I mean the truck's cab wasn't as big as a normal car, but still.

I glanced towards Seth and caught his gaze. I simply shook my head no, and turned my stare towards my bag.

"Are you sure? Because it's not problem. The truck might be a little old, but my friends and I worked on it pretty hard, so everything works really well."

I shook my head no once again, and tugged on the grey sweat shirt I was wearing. Between that and him I'd be pretty warm.

"Okay, but tell me if you start to get cold." And with that they were off.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think, and please REVEIW


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